Sonorenses Americanizados

In contrast to earlier years, when seasonal immigration patterns dominated, Mexicans now settled permanently in Arizona, and some became American citizens. The Arizona Daily Star urged that Mexican immigrants be forced to undergo a five-year probationary period before being allowed citizenship.^[16] Sonoran government officials expressed outrage over what they perceived as an act of desertion by their fellow countrymen. This increasing out-migration became a source of embarrassment to state officials. To retaliate against the so-called sonorenses americanizados (Americanized Sonorans), in 1874 the state's official

newspaper, La Estrella de Occidente, published a list of those individuals who had changed their nationality.^[17]

Mexican and American objections did not influence Sonorans confronting hardships in the desolate north. Neither government regulations nor cultural constraints prevented them from migrating or even becoming United States citizens since naturalization required little effort. More importantly, for a Mexican to become an American citizen in Tucson or southern Arizona did not imply a dramatic change in their lifestyle or culture. Sonorans constituted the majority of the population throughout the region, and their culture pervaded the social organization of life in most areas. Dependence on Sonorans for trade allowed Mexicans to play important roles in the commerce of the area.^[18] Cities like Tucson retained a strong Sonoran character, and their culture continued to be validated through existing institutions and by a host of public celebrations. In fact, outsiders often described Tucson as a Mexican city on American soil. In 1891 the San Francisco Chronicle insisted that Tucson was a "decidedly foreign town, foreign in its looks, in its habits, its population, . . . it is no more American than the northwest provinces of British India is European."^[19] By becoming citizens, Sonorans in southern Arizona did not relinquish their culture, but rather sought to enhance the advantages of living near the border.^[20]

It did not take long for astute American politicians in Tucson to capitalize on the growing numbers of sonorenses americanizados in order to get elected. Unfamiliar with the political process and swayed by a host of promises, some Mexicans changed their nationality in order to vote in local elections. El Fronterizo, Tucson's leading Spanish-language newspaper, blasted Mexicans who allowed their vote to be used by Anglo politicians.^[21] Their critique of recent immigrants recognized the growing stream of Mexicans opting to settle in Arizona. The newspaper's editors understood the factors that compelled hundreds of Sonorans to migrate. But Carlos Velasco and other leaders of the Mexican community objected to the manner in which electoral agents had taken Mexicans "like a flock of sheep to the local court to become citizens on the eve of an elections . . . disgracing all Mexicans living in the United States."^[22] Active in local politics, Velasco preferred to see Mexicans vote as a block in order to obtain concessions from the local Anglo power structure. El Fronterizo's public endorsement of American candidates underscored this point. In order to punish the sonorense americanizados, Velasco, the editor of El Fronterizo, reported their names to Sonoran officials. Government offices in Sonora received instructions to

treat as foreigners any Mexicans who had acquired United States citizenship.

The measures taken by the Sonoran government to curtail the activity of Americanized Sonorans indicated that most of the latter continued to retain strong ties in Mexico. For example, Ramón Araiza, a rancher, maintained a residence in Sasabe, Sonora, and one in Sasabe, Arizona. What's more, according to officials, Araiza had taken the liberty of moving the United States-Mexico border marker to ensure that one part of his ranch would be in Mexico and the other in the United States. Sonoran authorities repeatedly accused him of smuggling. Francisco Prieto, the Mexican consul at Tucson, claimed that many Sonorans, such as Araiza, became Americans in order acquire rights in the United States and, if necessary, avoid persecution in Mexico. He wrote to Porfirio Diaz in 1879 that nationality along the border had become "ambiguous since individuals opted for which ever one proved convenient at a given moment."^[23]

Economic opportunity redefined traditional concepts of identity. In the vicinity of the border town of Saric, Antonio Burruel, a Mexican who now claimed to be American citizen, operated a mine in Sonoran territory. Trinidad Padilla, the legal owner of the Tres Bellotas ranch, demanded that the government take action to protect his property against the new Americanized Sonorans. Padilla alleged that Burruel had fenced in his (Padilla's) property, claiming that the land belonged to the United States.^[24] Confronting a host of similar border problems, Luis Torres, governor of Sonora, pleaded with the federal government to demarcate clearly the limits between both countries. He warned that unless the federal government took immediate action to resolve this issue, difficulties along the border would be interminable, and "small altercations could escalate into international conflicts."^[25] Clear demarcations of the border would not, however, resolve the murky issue of persons who now claimed dual citizenship.

Most Sonorans eventually accepted the sonorenses americanizados as assets and not as traitors.^[26] With limited resources, prefects of northern Sonora often requested economic assistance from their countrymen in Arizona. For example, when in 1879 the prefect of Altar needed funds to pay his district's share of the federal debt, he sought contributions from among the Mexican residents of Tucson.^[27] State leaders, like Governor Francisco Serna, also viewed the sonorenses americanizados as important allies. Like a host of Sonoran politicians before him, Serna

sought refuge in Tucson during periods of political turmoil, becoming familiar with the old town and its inhabitants.^[28] When the federal government in 1879 warned Serna about possible attacks by American filibusters, he dismissed the idea, indicating that the state had nothing to fear from Arizona because "Sonorans comprised the majority of Arizona's population. They are true patriots, who appreciate the honor and dignity of Mexico, more so than many Mexicans who live in their own nation."^[29] He assured the federal government that if Americans invaded the state, Sonorans living in Arizona would sound the alarm and take up arms against any intruders.

Mexicans living in Tucson actively participated in the social and political life of Sonora. Las Dos Republicas, La Sonora, and the Fronterizo kept them abreast of politics in Sonora, and many Mexicans supported political candidates in their native state by writing letters or donating money. In I878 Tucson's Mexicans, for example, fomented opposition against the interim governor Vicente Mariscal, blaming him for the ills of the border area.^[30] Leading Sonorans in Tucson became de facto ambassadors of the state, acting as intermediaries in government, commerce, mining, and agriculture. They also helped Americans establish good relations with the Sonoran government. After the ouster of Ignacio Pesqueira, General Mariscal, the interim governor, invited Leopoldo Carrillo, a leading Mexican businessman in Tucson, to Sonora. Upon his return, Carrillo arranged an invitation from the Tucson city council for Mariscal to visit the American town.^[31] In Tucson, influential Sonorans, such as Carlos Velasco, F. T. Davila, and others, formed the nucleus of future Mexican political organizations in Arizona, for example, La Alianza Hispano-Americana.^[32] These individuals also used their extensive connections in Sonora to advance their economic interests in Arizona.